


All That The Wind Carries

by padfootagain



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst and Feels, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Marauders, Marauders' Era, Romantic Fluff, blackinnon, jily
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 17:58:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16979220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/padfootagain/pseuds/padfootagain
Summary: The four Marauders are about to start their 7th year. Only this time, they will not go only to Hogwarts. After the Wizarding World was revealed to Muggles, relations between the two communities have never been so uncertain. Will a program sending Wizarding students to a Muggle school be enough to show the world that the two communities can live in peace? Jily, Blackinnon fic.





	1. One Year, Two Schools

**Author's Note:**

> Nothing too shocking but be careful with a few of the themes that I talk about. I hope you all like it :)

It was strange not to go to back Hogwarts.

It was strange not to go to the train station, not to run through the wall to the platform 9 ¾, not to hear the sound of the train as it was about to start its trip to Scotland.

It was strange not to walk with Sirius through the Muggle crowd, not to hug Remus and Peter on the platform after weeks without seeing his best friends, not to recognize Lily’s hair coming out of the blue through a cloud of smoke.

It was strange to think that he wouldn’t be at the feast this year, nor play a few pranks at the new students, nor see the Sorting Ceremony.

It was strange to think that he would not walk to his dormitory in the Gryffindor Tower, relieved to abandon his robes for his pyjamas, and claim a good night of sleep in the welcoming school he loved so much.

Instead, James was walking in Muggle clothes towards the portal of a private High School in London.

A Muggle school.

All around him, no one was wearing robes, nor holding wands. They were in uniforms, but only with a black tie, a white shirt and black trousers. No one was wearing gold and red, nor blue, yellow, or green. He knew that they didn’t have schoolbooks about charms or potions in their bags, but chemistry and literature.

He didn’t recognize anything as he walked through the wooden gates and into the schoolyard. The walls were all made of stones, and there were trees that grew through the paved yard, just like they did at the magical castle, but it wasn’t his school. He couldn’t find back this feeling of coming home that he felt every time he walked into Hogwarts.

Clearly, Saint Peter School was nothing like Hogwarts.

Although, there were some things that never changed…

“Well, that’s what I call a statue,” Sirius said, whistling and nodding towards the impressive statue of Saint Peter that seemed to watch over the yard, its serious figure staring at them with a disapprobative glance. “Even in Hogwarts, this lad would look proud.”

“It would make a good friend for Mourning Myrtle,” James answered.

Sirius laughed, but the boy on their right merely rolled his eyes.

“We haven’t been here for five minutes, and you’re already being stupid,” Remus complained.

“Come on, Moony, you can’t deny it was funny!” Peter protested, finally catching up on his friends.

There was a flash of red, like a wave of fire through the crowd, and even if James could only see it for a second, he recognized to whom this hair belonged in an instant. His heart started to beat faster into his chest, and he felt his stomach doing crazy flip-flops.

“So… Ginger Devil’s already here, hey…” Sirius said, a mischievous smile badly hidden on his face.

James merely walked on his friend’s foot purposefully.

“Don’t start, Padfoot.”

“Come on, Prongs, relax. I’m sure you’ll finally manage to seduce her this year. After all, she didn’t jinx you that much last year… she only made your head swell once, okay, but it wasn’t that bad…”

“If this was supposed to make me feel better, it didn’t, Pads.”

“You’re always so touchy when it comes to Evans…” Sirius complained.

“Well, I don’t know, perhaps it’s because I’ve tried to convince her to go out with me for years and that all I ever received from her are shouts and jinxes.”

“You don’t have the most delicate techniques though.”

“Oh, shut up!”

Remus chuckled, patting James’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. You’re Head boy now after all. And she’s Head girl. You’ll have plenty of occasions to hang out with her, and chat, and… try to seduce her.”

James heaved a sigh.

“I hate you, guys.”

“We know you don’t, Prongs,” Peter replied, laughing.

Sirius finally recognized the group of Hogwarts students that stood in a corner of the yard.

“Looks like we’ve found our classmates,” he said, walking towards them, his friends following close.

They shook hands with Frank Longbottom and Caradoc Dearborn, along with some Hufflepuffs who played in the Quidditch team. But when James recognized Severus Snape in the crowd, apparently talking to Bellatrix Black, he couldn’t help but frown.

“I didn’t think we would see any Slytherin here,” he mumbled.

“Apparently, they all came,” Frank said.

“Why?” asked Peter.

“Trouble I guess,” the Hufflepuff Seeker answered. “I’m sure they hope to fuck up the whole program. You know?’ Muggles and Wizards will never be able to live peacefully together’ and all the shit.”

“Yeah, I bet they’re hoping it will go ill…” Remus nodded gloomily.

“I don’t reckon it would have been easy even without them…” Sirius said, nodding towards a group of Muggle students who were staring at them like they were animals in a zoo.

“I’m sure it will be fine. I guess… we all have to get used to it, that’s all,” Remus reassured him.

“Hmm… not so sure.”

“Don’t be pessimistic, Padfoot.”

“All I’m saying is that… if there are some students coming from Hogwarts who want to make all of this fuck up because they’re too stupid to think that we could all live as equals and in peace, you can be sure that some students from this High School will think exactly the same. We’ll have allies and foes on both sides, and it’s naive to think the contrary.”

“It freaks me out when you actually speak intelligent things, Pads.”

“Fuck off, Moony.”

“Here, sounds more like you.”

On the other side of the schoolyard, another group, made this time of Muggle students, had formed. They were looking at the Wizards and Witches with curious expressions…

“You think they’re the students that we’re going to study with?” Frank asked the four Gryffindor boys.

“I guess,” James shrugged.“Apparently, they started class yesterday, they already know who their referent teacher is.”

“And we didn’t have our traditional feast…” Peter complained.

“I guess we’ll just have to follow them to class then,” Dearborn said.

James merely shrugged again in response. But the suspense was not to remain for long. Soon, Albus Dumbledore, followed closely by Professor McGonagall and a Muggle woman who seemed to be the Headmistress of the Muggle school, walked into the yard.

“Your attention, please, children,” Dumbledore said, in his loud and warm voice.

All the Wizards and Witches approached him in an instant to listen to his speech, though the Muggle students seemed more hesitant. But they approached anyway, and listened as well to the Headmaster of the Wizarding school.

“All of you who are gathered here have volunteered to be part of this program, that I hope, shall prove to the world what we all believe in. That Wizards and Muggles can live in peace, together. It’s been five years now since our existence was revealed to the eyes of Muggles. And I’m sure that there is no need to remind you that the situation between our two communities have never been more uncertain. Many of us, in both sides, have suffered from all this hate, and I am sad at the thought that we all shall suffer from it again before it is all over.”

He paused, letting his words sink in.

“But this is our chance to show the World that hate can be overcome,” he went on. “This is our chance to show to all who still doubt that we can live peacefully, and that we all have things to teach and learn from each other.”

The Headmistress of Saint Peter school stepped forward, and came next to Dumbledore.

“Until February you shall all study here, at Saint Peter School,” she said in a very high-pitched voice. “During this time, you shall spend half the day together, studying Muggle classes. During the other part of the day, the Wizards and Witches will follow their own classes, so they can get prepared for their NEWTs. After February, you will all be sent to Hogwarts, the Wizarding school, where you will all follow Wizarding classes half the day. Muggle students will next be separated from Wizards to follow their own lessons and prepare their own exams that are coming at the end of the year. Thus, both Muggle and Wizarding students shall be ready to pass their own examinations.”

“I hope you will remember,” Dumbledore went on, his tone serious, but full of hope as well, “that this is a chance that will probably not occur again before a very long time. And if things were to turn ill, the tensions between our two communities would only rise. So, even if I know that you are only children, I expect from all of you to behave like the adults you have already started to become…”

He stared for a moment at the Gryffindors, his electric blue eyes fixed upon the four boys.

“Now, I guess we should all get to work,” he added, and there were sparkles of mischief back in his eyes.

It was McGonagall’s turn to step forward.

“Before I tell you which class you are going to follow this morning, and thus with which Muggle students you’re going to study until February, I’d like to remind you that as long as you are studying Muggle classes, you cannot use Magic.”

She intensely stared at Sirius and James.

“Is it clear for everyone here?”

They all nodded, though it was hard for the two boys not to laugh.

“We can begin then,” Dumbledore nodded, but he was awful at hiding the smile that curved up his lips.

“The four houses shall be mixed with four classes from Saint Peter School,” McGonagall said. “Ravenclaws shall follow Mrs Arthur’s students to Mathematics lesson.”

The Ravenclaws followed the group of students who started to leave the yard and head for the stairs.

“Slytherins shall go join the class of Mr Lewis for English literature.”

The Slytherins followed the second group of Muggles that left the yard in silence.

“Hufflepuffs will follow the class of Mrs Willows for Physics and Chemistry.”

The Hufflepuffs disappeared as well. And now, there were only the Gryffindors left, along with ten Muggle teenagers that stared at them as if they were in a circus…

“Gryffindors, you shall go to History class with Mrs Hamilton.”

When James turned around towards the Muggle students they were already leaving the yard, and heading towards an impressive wooden staircase that climbed into the main building directly to the third floor. They then turned left and walked down a corridor, that seemed dusty and smelled like moist.

All along, no one talked. No one really knew how to start a normal conversation. No one really knew what they were supposed to do, except walking to class. And so they did just that, and James tried to memorize the map of the school already. He guessed it was just a reflex after all these years spent mapping Hogwarts.

First one corridor on the left, then turn right, second door on the left, climb up a flight of stairs, and then the third door on the left.

A Muggle boy opened the blue door, upon which the old paint was cracking, letting guess the colour of the wood under the worn-out colours. But instead of stepping inside, he turned towards the rest of the students.

“Hi,” he breathed.

He sounded like he was afraid of these unknown faces. Lily merely smiled at him, a reassuring warmth in her green eyes.

“Hi,” she answered, a little laugh in her voice.

She sounded amused. James had stopped looking at the Muggle guy. He could never look at anything but Lily when she smiled anyway…

“Mrs Hamilton won’t arrive before 15 minutes,” the Muggle boy went on. “Apparently, they thought it was best if we explained how the school works before our first class.”

Remus smiled and nodded, encouraging the boy to continue.

“To make sure that we would all interact with each other, our teachers have already decided for us where we would sit in class.”

James and Sirius exchanged a horrified glance… If McGonagall was involved in this, they would never be able to sit next to each other this year…

“So, the list is here on the teacher’s desk. Let’s go and find our seat, shall we?” the boy went on, before stepping into the classroom, and heading towards the long and old wooden desk at the front of the classroom.

Everyone gathered around him to take a look at the sketch of the room, searching for their names on the piece of paper.

And McGonagall was most definitely involved in this…

“Oh, Fuck!”

They all turned towards Sirius. His eyes were round, he looked absolutely horrified.

“I’m on the second row! I’ll kill McGonagall for this!”

James finally spotted his name. He was on the first row, next to the door, on the right of the classroom. Sirius was on the second row, on the opposite side, next to the windows. There was no way they could interact during classes without being noticed.

“Shit, man… She’s got to be kidding me!” he breathed.

Lily rolled her eyes.

“We’ve been in class for less than two minutes, and you’re already complaining…”

“It does suck, though…” James replied. “I bet you won’t be particularly happy to learn that you’re at the back of the class either, are you?”

“What!?”

Whilst the Gryffindors were complaining about their position in the classroom, the Muggle students had all walked to their seat, without a single word.

“At least we’re together Lils, look,” Alice reassured her.

Lily smiled at her friend.

“You’re right. It’s not that bad.”

Meanwhile, Sirius had walked to his seat, and let himself fall in his chair with a desperate sigh. Remus merely chuckle when he walked next to him to reach his own seat.

“It’s not that bad,” he told Sirius, as he sat two rows behind the boy.

Sirius merely glared at him.

“I hate you,” he said, which only made his friend laugh harder.

Marlene McKinnon sat right before Sirius.

“Oh, wonderful…” he sighed, but this time his tone wasn’t annoyed, it was mischievous. “Now, I even have an arse before me.”

The blond girl turned around, glaring at him.

“Don’t start, Black.”

“Start what?”

“Calling me things like ‘arse’. Don’t you know you’re not supposed to insult people every time you open your fucking mouth?”

“Language!”

She rolled her eyes.

“Come on, I just said you were an arse…” Sirius went on. “…And a lovely one too, by the way.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“Don’t start.”

“Start what?”

But she merely turned back towards the board, and chose to ignore him.

“She doesn’t seem to like you very much.”

Sirius turned towards the black haired girl behind him.

“Nah… she likes me,” he answered.

He offered the girl his open hand, staring right into her big blue eyes.

“I’m Sirius, by the way.”

“Angel,” she answered, shaking his hand.

He couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was…

“So… how is that teacher of yours?” he asked.

“She’s okay I think.”

“Yeah, she’s a kind woman,” the blond boy next to Sirius added.

“Is there any teacher we should be worried about?” James asked from the other side of the classroom.

“Arthur is very strict,” the boy answered. “And Mr Howley is completely crazy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he teaches biology. He’s fucked up. You’ll see. We have class with him right after Mrs Hamilton’s lesson.”

“When will we have our time tables ?” Lily asked.

“No idea,” the boy shrugged. “Probably this morning.”

They were finally all talking together. For sure, of not very important things, but still…

It felt good to see the ice melt between them all.

It was the moment their teacher chose to walk through the door and enter the room. She was young, not older than thirty, with long blond curls falling on her shoulders. She grinned at the sight of the teenagers all talking together across the room.

“Ha, I can see that you’re talking together already. Perfect, I was scared you would all be a bit shy at first.”

She walked to the desk, and put her coat on her chair, before sitting on her wooden desk, rearranging her blue dress.

“I’m Mrs Hamilton, and I teach History. I will also be your referent teacher in the Muggle school,” she added for the Wizarding students. “So, if your Head of House is not at Saint Peter, it is me you have to call for. Before we start, I’d like you all to quickly present yourselves to the class. Let’s start with you.”

She pointed at James, and the boy merely shrugged in response, getting up and saying his name.

“What is your favourite class at Hogwarts, James,” she asked.

“Transfiguration,” he answered without an hesitation.

“What is it?” the teacher asked, an obvious curiosity in her voice.

“It’s the Magic used to change the form of objects.”

“Could you make us a demonstration?”

James shrugged again, and took his wand out of his pocket. In the back of the class, Lily cleared her throat.

“We are not supposed to use Magic during Muggle classes, professor,” Lily told her.

“I’m sure your teachers will forgive you if I am the one who actually asks to use Magic, Miss…”

“Evans, Lily Evans.”

The teacher nodded, before focusing on James one more time.

“So… could you show us?”

James turned towards the Muggle girl sitting next to him. He pointed his wand at her book, and with a quick flick of his wand, the pages turned into feathers, and a beautiful raven was soon walking upon her desk.

All the Muggles in the class looked at the animal in awe.

“That’s beautiful, James! ” the teacher clapped.

Another flick of his wand, and the bird had disappeared, the history book back on the desk.

“Well, thank you, James,” Mrs Hamilton nodded. “Now, please, everyone, when you present yourself, tell us also what your favourite class is, and for the Wizards and Witches, a demonstration is more than welcome.”

All the students rose one by one, and spells were cast (Sirius’s firework in the shape of a dog was clapped for a long while), until it was Remus’s time to stand and tell his name.

“My favourite class is Defence Against the Dark Arts,” he explained.

“Dark Arts? What are these?” Angel asked.

“Dark Magic. Magic can be used to hurt people as well. And there are some magical creatures that use this kind of powers against humans too. It teaches us how to defend ourselves.”

“But, you mean that only creatures can use Dark Magic?”

“No. We are taught how to defend ourselves against dark creatures. But we are also taught how to fight.”

“So… you can use your Magic to hurt people as well…”

A rumour shook the Muggles gathered in the room.

“We are not supposed to. But there are evil people in both the Muggle and the Wizarding world,” Remus tried to explain. “If we have this kind of class, it is to avoid that people could use Magic with evil means.”

But it wasn’t enough to stop all the whispering.

“Could you show us one of the spells, Remus, please?” the teacher asked.

He thought for a moment, before closing his eyes and raising his wand, a smile slowly forming on his face.

“Expecto Patronum,” he said.

And all the whispers died out when a white wolf came out of the boy’s wand and walked across the room in mid-air. It was like light in the shape of an animal. When Remus made his patronus disappear, the whole class clapped, and it seemed that the mention of Dark Wizards was forgotten.

But not quite yet…

“What do you use this spell for?” the black haired boy next to him, called Joey, asked.

“It’s used to repulse Dementors,” Remus answered.

“Dementors?”

“They are Dark creatures, they nourish themselves on happy memories. They steal all the joy from the world around them.”

“How lovely…” Angel snorted.

“They are also the guardians of the Wizarding prison here, in Britain. It’s called Azkaban.”

“So… you have a prison especially for Wizards?” Joey asked.

“Yes, of course.”

“So there are dangerous Wizards out there…”

“Like there are dangerous Muggles,” Sirius answered in Remus’s stead.

“So it’s true what they say…” Joey went on, ignoring Sirius’s remark. “About this Wizard and his followers.”

Remus took a careful look at Marlene.

“Yes, it’s true,” he said slowly.

“Like the Free Minds Movement is real on the Muggle side,” Sirius added, but he was once again ignored.

“So… there are Wizards who want to kill Muggles,” Joey insisted.

“And there are Muggles who want to kill Wizards,” Sirius replied.

“There is evil in both the Muggle and the Wizarding societies. It doesn’t mean that we can’t show everyone that there is nothing to fear in sharing our two worlds,” Lily said.

“I know, it’s just…” Joey stuttered. “Don’t get me wrong, if I’m here it’s because I want to learn about Magic and everything, but… It’s still scary to think that some people are ready to do pretty much anything to make sure that we will never live together in peace. ”

“But… I heard that some Wizarding families were attacked as well by this… Voldemort or something…” Angel asked.

Peter winced.

“Don’t say his name,” he shrieked, and Angel blushed as she saw terror in his eyes.

“It’s just a name, Peter,” James replied, his voice deadly cold. “Don’t react like that, like you were just a coward.”

“James is right,” Marlene said slowly. “It’s just a name. It is this kind of reaction that have led us to this situation. To fear and sorrow…”

All the Gryffindors stared intensely at her, and there was a moment of silence, broken by the teacher when she cleared her throat. None of the Muggles could understand why they were all staring at her this way, but it was obvious that something terrible had happened, or would happen…

“Let’s continue,” Mrs Hamilton said. “Maggie, it’s your turn,” she added to the girl sitting next to Remus.

Once everyone had been introduced to the class, Mrs Hamilton jumped down from her desk, and picked up a white chalk, turning towards the blackboard.

“Alright, there isn’t much time left for the lesson, but we’ll start anyway. Please, take out your notebooks and pencils. This year, we’ll start by studying the 1920s…”

She turned around as the class was shaken by a wave of whispers.

“What is it?” she asked her students.

The Wizards and Witches had picked up their parchment, quill and dark ink from their bag, and the Muggles couldn’t refrain their chuckles.

“Wait, are you serious?” Maggie asked Remus.

“What’s wrong?” James asked.

“You use quills?” Joey asked, aghast.

“Yes…” James answered, narrowing his eyes. “What about it?”

“Why do you not use pens and pencils?”

“I don’t know… we all use quills and parchment,” James merely answered with a shrug.

“When you will be done with talking about quills and paper,” the teacher interrupted the two boys, an amused smile curving up her lips, “let me know, so we can begin the lesson.”

They immediately stopped talking, and turned again towards the blackboard, to copy the title of the first chapter they would study that year.

“So, what happened during this period?” the teacher asked the class. “And for the Wizards and Witches, you can tell us about this period too of course. It is History class, and I intend to study both History of the Muggle and the Wizarding World with you this year.”

As always, Lily’s hand was the first to rise.

“Yes Lily, go on,” the teacher nodded.

“The 1920s were mostly marked by the raise of the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald. He was very active in Europe and America during this period of time. It was also the period of rebuilding after the War…”

“Wait… do you mean that you fought during World War I?” Joey asked, aghast.

“And World War II,” James nodded.

“Really?”

James nodded.

“What kind of fighting did you do?” the teacher asked.

“Normal fighting,” Sirius shrugged.

“The British Communication Center is known to have been the most efficient and the safest service for the exchange of information during the two World Wars,” Lily answered. “The British army was also most feared for its knowledge in dragons warfare.”

“You used dragons?” Angel gasped.

Lily nodded.

“The British army was very good at it,” she said, but there was a bitterness in her voice, like she didn’t approve the use of magical creatures.

James smiled. It wasn’t surprising that someone like Lily would not approve…

“What about this dark Wizard you were mentioning?” the teacher asked Lily.

“Gellert Grindelwald was a Dark Wizard. He wanted to reveal the existence of Wizards to the Muggles, because he thought it would provoke a war between us. And he thought Wizards could win it.”

There was a heavy silence across the classroom for a moment.

“Why did he want to do that?” Mrs Hamilton asked.

“He thought that Wizards and Witches should not have to hide and be afraid of Muggles. He thought they were more powerful. He saw Muggles as enemies.”

“Why did you hide in the first place though?” Angel asked.

“There are less Wizards and Witches in the World than Muggles,” Peter answered. “To protect ourselves, and our traditions, we thought it was best to hide.”

“By separating the two communities, it insured a certain peace,” Remus went on. “Muggles usually don’t like much Wizards and Witches.”

“It was a long time ago though, the time when we used to burn Witches,” Joey said.

James laughed.

“You never burnt any Witch. An elementary spell allows us to be completely protected of fire.”

“You only killed Muggles this way, not witches,” Sirius nodded.

“But the persecution was still there. Witches and Wizards were always hated, and they grew afraid quickly,” Remus said. “It was best for everyone to separate the two worlds.”

“What was your reaction when your society was revealed to us?” the teacher asked the Wizarding students.

James shrugged.

“It changed many things on a daily basis, that’s for sure. I don’t think they changed for the worst though. We don’t have to be as cautious as before.”

“What about you?” Mrs Hamilton asked Lily.

The girl shrugged.

“I’m a Muggleborn, so…”

“A what?” Angel asked.

“Both my parents are Muggles,” Lily explained. “Although, I have Magical abilities.”

“So… even with Muggle parents, you can be able to make magic?”

“It is quite rare though,” Lily nodded.

“So you already knew everything about us,” the teacher smiled.

Lily nodded, smiling as well.

“Now I can practice my spells in my garden without fear of being seen by my Muggle neighbours during the Summer,” Lily smiled.

They were interrupted by the ringing of a bell, signalling the end of the class, and soon everyone was walking towards the door. But Sirius couldn’t help but notice that Marlene was taking her time to pack up her things.

A bit too much for it to be natural indeed…

“Hey, McKinnon, you’re okay?” he asked.

She looked up at him. He seemed genuinely worried, which was rare enough to be noticed. Sirius was never worried about anything. He was the always-confident-always-reckless-and-childish Sirius Black.

Or at least, he never showed his worry to her…

“I’m fine, Black,” she answered.

“You’d better hurry, or you’ll get lost throughout the school without your Muggle guides,” the teacher told them, smiling.

They both hurried out of the classroom and into the corridor, and soon found back their classmates. But Marlene didn’t seem so keen to join the rest of the students, and so Sirius remained with her, a few strides behind their friends.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Her tone was cold, and defensive. It was a tone he knew only too well. He had used it for years with James and Remus. It was the tone that allowed him to run away from conversations. It was the tone he used when he didn’t want to answer a question.

It was the tone he used to avoid talking about his family.

“Look,” he said slowly, “with all you’ve been through this summer…”

“I don’t want to talk about that now, Black.”

“I know, I just mean…”

“I don’t need your pity, Black,” she spat.

He stopped her before she could follow their classmates into the new classroom.

“It’s not what I meant…” he added. “Pity is not what I had in mind.”

She looked up at him. To prevent her from joining the others in the classroom, he had caught her by the arm. His hold was firm, but gentle as well. It was reassuring, somehow, like the gesture of a friend.

“I… I won’t say that I know what it is to lose your family, to lose both your parents…” he went on, in a low whisper, making sure that no one could eavesdrop their conversation. “But I know what it is to find yourself in the home of a friend, and to have to act as if it was your own.”

She could see that he was confessing something very personal, something he had probably never told anyone. She was transfixed, merely able to stare at his hypnotic grey eyes.

“I know what it is to unpack your suitcase in the home of your best friend,” he went on, “and to have to start over. So… if you need to talk about that, you can come and see me, okay?”

She wanted to laugh. Sirius Black offering her his help… it was hilarious. Or well, under any other circumstances it would have been. The subject of their conversation was everything but funny though…

She gave him a sad smile.

“Thank you, I’ll think about it.”

He nodded, letting go of her.

“Let’s go for a new adventure then,” he said, his mischievous smile back on his lips, as he pointed at the classroom.

“What is it supposed to be about again?” she asked.

“Bio… something.”

“I have a bad feeling about this class,” she shook her head, starting towards the open door.

But Sirius was frozen on the spot, staring at something down the corridor, a serious frown on his face. Marlene followed his gaze.

Down the corridor, some Slytherins were talking together and he could easily recognize them from where he stood : Snape, Avery, Lestrange and Bella Black. Anyone who didn’t know them would have thought they were not less innocent than any teenager in the school. But Sirius knew better. He had seen through their games a long while ago. He knew they were playing a game of appearances. They were wearing masks of innocence, only to hurt more in the end.

When he spoke again, his voice sounded stern and cold.

“I have a bad feeling about this entire year…”


	2. Bio... Something And Head Duties

“This has to be a bloody joke…”

Sirius stared at the flower before him.

“Sirius, don’t start,” Marlene admonished.

“But this has to be a fucking joke!” Sirius replied in a whisper, desperate.

Marlene rubbed her eyes. Why was she paired with Sirius in this class, why…?!

“Sirius, shut up, and take these scissors,” she told him.

“What’s the point in cutting a flower into pieces?” he asked back, not touching the scissors.

“I don’t know, but we have to do it.”

He looked at the bio…something teacher. Merlin, he couldn’t remember the name of the lesson again. He looked at the bald round man, with his big blue glasses that made his eyes look too big for his face, and his white coat. He was wearing strange blue gloves as well… Sirius couldn’t see why. He didn’t reckon a bunch of irises were dangerous. This guy seemed completely mad. He heaved an annoyed sigh.

“Well, do it then, I’m not wasting my time on this,” he told Marlene, shaking his head.

Marlene heaved a sigh, before taking the matter into her own hands.

“This is so stupid!” Sirius breathed.

“I know, Sirius,” Marlene nodded.

“Who cares about the anatomy of a stupid flower?”

“Apparently, our teacher does.”

“Must have something wrong with his head then…”

“Hold this,” she told him, handing him a scalpel.

Sirius held whatever she was handing him without even thinking about what it was. He was looking by the window.

“I’m going to hate this class, I can feel it,” he muttered.

“If you could hate it in silence though, it would spare me a headache,” Marlene replied, still focused on separating the petals from the flower delicately.

“See, that’s why we could never be friends. Even when I try to have a normal conversation with you, you’re aggressive.”

“I’m not aggressive. You’re just annoying.”

“I’m not only annoying.”

“Oh really? I thought it was the strongest side of your personality though.”

“Well, you’re wrong. I’m also smart, funny, handsome…”

“And your head is the size of the Quidditch pitch…”

“I’m not as stupid and childish as you think I am,” Sirius snapped, narrowing his eyes.

“You couldn’t manage to survive a week without setting up a stupid prank,” she replied.

“I could do that easily.”

“Oh really?”

“You know what, McKinnon… let’s make a bet.”

“A bet?”

“Yup. If I manage to stay out of trouble for an entire week, then you’ll have to take a drink with me.”

“You mean on a date? You’re mental. It’ll never happen.”

“Don’t be stupid, McKinnon. I’ve never asked you out, and there’s a reason for it.”

“What’s that reason?”

“You’re not my type.”

She blinked, before narrowing her eyes and wrinkling her nose, what she always did when she was angry, but couldn’t shout her lungs out.

“Oh… so I’m not your type… Well I’ll let you know, Black, that you’re not my type either.”

“And what’s your type?” Sirius replied, annoyance lowering his voice. “Ugly, stupid Slytherins?”

“And what’s yours? Easy girls that you can take to bed in the blink of an eye?”

“Pretty much,” Sirius shrugged.

“You’re disgusting.”

“I am disgusting, really?”

“Yes, you are. You think with what you have between your legs, instead of thinking with your brain.”

“That’s 100% not true. I’m a very clever person.”

“Strangely enough, I’ve never seen this side of your personality.”

“And I’ve never seen you being funny.”

“I’m very funny, I have a very good sense of humour. The problem is that you’re so annoying that it’s hard for me to talk five minutes with you without wanting to curse your arse into oblivion.”

Sirius raised a mischievous eyebrow.

“So, you think about my arse, McKinnon…”

“See, I want to curse you again.”

“Come on, I wasn’t asking for a date with you, just a free drink, like I would ask from one of the guys, if it can reassure you on my intentions about that bet of ours.”

“I haven’t agreed to bet yet.”

“But you’re going to.”

“Really? You think so?”

“I’m sure of it. You can’t resist a bet, that’s your biggest weakness.”

“And what would I win if you failed ?”

Sirius shrugged.

“I don’t know. I want a free drink, what would you like to have?”

“You could stop talking to me for an entire week.”

Sirius seemed to think, before nodding and offering the girl his open hand.

“Sounds fair enough.”

Marlene heaved a sigh.

“Alright then, if it can allow me to have one week without you…”

She shook the boy’s hand.

“Perfect!”

They both turned towards the teacher who had suddenly appeared by their side.

“You did an excellent job! Congratulations!”

And he walked away, turning towards Angel and her partner behind them.

Marlene stared at the pieces of flower on her and Sirius’s table.

“I don’t really know how I should take the fact that I’ve been congratulated for cutting a flower into pieces,” Marlene said.

“Well, I reckon it was meant as a compliment. You are apparently very talented in killing and cutting flowers. Congratulations, McKinnon. You’re a floral psychopath.”

“Oh, shut up, Black.”

But Sirius was not fooled, and his playful smile doubled in size.

He had seen the smile she was trying to hide curving up her lips…

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class. But the teacher turned towards his students before letting them go.

“Please, please… For our next class, I want you to finish the sketches of your flowers. Oh, and I almost forgot I had a message for some of you, hang on…”

He hurried towards his desk and picked up a little note, holding his glasses closer to his eyes to read the short message.

“Miss Lily Evans and Mr. James Potter are to go to the Headmistress office at noon. You’ll receive your timetables there.”

There was a silence, the students waiting for the teacher to speak again, but he merely remained standing still, staring blankly at the note.

“Sir?” Angel called.

The teacher started.

“Yes?” he asked, looking at her through his glasses.

“Can we go to our next class now?”

“Of course, go, go…”

The students all stood up as one man and hurried out of the classroom.

“This guy makes me think about a Divination teacher…” Frank Longbottom said, shivering at the thought.

“He’s as lunatic as a Divination teacher, you’re right,” Remus nodded.

“Hey, Cap’, ” Caradoc called James. “When are you going to ask McGonagall about Quidditch practice?”

“You heard Crazy Flower there, I’ll go see the Headmistress at lunchtime, I guess Dumbledore and McGonagall will be there too.”

Sirius chuckled.

“Oh Merlin, this nickname is going to stay…” he smiled.

James grinned back at him.

“I have to admit it’s a funny one,” Remus nodded, a small smile on his lips.

“You heard that, Prongs?” Sirius asked James. “Even Moony thinks it’s good. And if Moony agrees, then we have no choice but to adopt this new pet name for our dear teacher.”

James laughed at his silly friend. But his laughter remained caught in his throat as Lily was calling for him across the corridor. He turned around, and waited for her.

“Yes, Evans?” he asked her, making sure his tone was neutral.

He had decided not to ask her out again. Not before she had stopped hating him, at least…

“Do you know where the Headmistress’s office is?” she asked him.

He shook his head.

“No idea, but I’m sure that if we ask Muggles, they’ll show us.”

She nodded.

“Let’s go there straight after class then.”

It was his turn to nod.

“Alright then. Anything else?”

She opened her mouth to speak again, but closed it instantly. They had arrived to their next classroom.

James raised a surprised eyebrow.

“Come on, what is it?” he asked her again.

She straightened her skirt, clearing her throat.

…What she always did when she was nervous.

“Look, about… us both being Heads,” she said slowly, carefully choosing her words. “I’d… really appreciate it if you could…”

“Not ask you out and act like a grown-up?” James proposed.

She stared at him.

“I’m not stupid,” he told her. “Of course I’ll behave…”

“That’s not what I meant,” she tried to reassure him.

“I won’t act like an arse,” James promised.

“We’ll have to schedule some meetings, to dispatch prefect duties…” Lily told him.

“We’ll do that whenever you want. I’m new to these things, but you just tell me how I can help you, and I will.”

She seemed… astonished.

“Well, okay…,” she muttered. “We’ll have to ask McGonagall about Quidditch as well.”

James raised an amused eyebrow.

“I didn’t know you liked Quidditch so much,” James told her.

She rolled her eyes.

“I like Quidditch like everyone else in Hogwarts. But we’ll have to match our schedules you and I. We’ll have to have meetings, at least once a week,” she told him.

James struggled to control the grin that was forming on his face at the idea of seeing Lily alone every week…

“Sure, we’ll ask McGonagall,” he reassured her.

“Perfect.”

She entered the classroom, leaving a happy James on the threshold.

————————————

They had asked a Muggle student to guide them to the Headmistress’ office. And while their friends were all eating their lunch, James and Lily were knocking on the wooden door of the Muggle Headmistress, who immediately called for them to enter.

The office was large and empty. Merely a wooden desk, a few shelves covered with books, a pile of files behind her comfortable chair, and four chairs for people she would receive in her office. It smelt like dust and moist. The walls, covered by some old green tapestry, gave the room an atmosphere close to the Slytherin Common Room, which for James meant only mistrust and threats. McGonagall was standing by the window, looking at the students hurrying across the grounds towards the cafeteria. Dumbledore was sitting next to the Muggle Headmistress, his blue eyes shining at the sight of his students. Two Muggles were there as well, a blond guy and a dark haired girl, who both seemed to be as old as Lily and James. They were sitting opposite the Headmasters.

“Here you are, did you find Mrs Trumbley’s office easily?” Dumbledore asked the two Gryffindors.

“We asked a Muggle student to guide us,” James nodded.

James offered Lily the last chair available, and she smiled at him, sitting down when James remained standing behind her.

“Oh, wait…” Dumbledore said, picking up his wand.

“It’s okay, Professor, I prefer to stand anyway,” James smiled.

The Headmaster nodded.

“As you wish. Well…” the old Wizard went on, clearing his throat. “This is Lily Evans and James Potter, who are our Head Boy and Head Girl,” Dumbledore introduced his student to the Muggles. “And here are the Head Boy and Head Girl of the Muggle school, Jersey Mulligan and Ellie Cromwell, ” he added to Lily and James.

The Heads exchanged polite smiles.

“As you are Head Boy and Head Girl, for the Muggle and the Wizarding schools, you will be in charge of organizing some events this year,” Dumbledore went on “as well as to work on the relations between Muggle and Wizarding Students.”

“We thought that it would be interesting to organize some events that could show students some activities practiced in the Muggle and Wizarding societies,” said Mrs. Trumbley. “Like sports for example.”

James smiled.

“So… The Quidditch Cup is still on, isn’t it?” he asked, looking at McGonagall.

The teacher couldn’t refrain a small smile.

“Well, of course it is still on,” she nodded. “And I expect from you to choose carefully the new players for our team, Mr. Potter.”

James grinned.

“Of course, Professor.”

“As we are talking about the matter of Quidditch,” Dumbledore said, “practice will have to be organized during the weekends. The Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs will be practicing every Saturday, while the Slytherins and the Gryffindors will be training every Sunday.”

“Only once a week?” James winced.

“I’m afraid that it will be complicated to organize more sessions, Mr. Potter.”

“Could we at least have more time a few weeks before a match?”

He looked at McGonagall.

“Please?” he tried to negotiate.

“I’m sure it could be managed,” McGonagall answered, looking at Dumbledore.

A mischievous smile appeared on the Headmaster’s face.

“I guess we could manage this, yes.”

James grinned again.

“It would be interesting to organize some kind of… event where Wizarding students could discover Muggle sports and vice versa,” said Mrs. Trumbley.

“How long do we have?” Mulligan asked.

“We should do this before the first Quidditch match,” James said.

“At the beginning of October,” Dumbledore nodded, “ but not later than that.”

“We should organize it even before that,” Mrs. Trumbley said. “The registrations for the sport clubs here are planned for the last week of September. If some Wizards want to join any Muggle team, they will have to know about these sports before the registrations.”

“What if we organized demonstration?” Lily proposed. “We could plan a match of each sport on Sundays or during the evening.”

“Excellent idea, Miss Evans,” Dumbledore smiled.

“Well, we’ll let you organize all that then,” said the Headmistress. “Some trips to London will be organized as well during the weekends, to make the Wizards discover more about our society.”

“Does that mean that Hogsmeade’s trips are cancelled?” Lily asked.

James’s eyes grew round.

“We are in London, we will organize some visits of Diagon Alley,” Dumbledore answered. “But I am afraid you will not be allowed to go to Hogsmeade as long as you are studying in Saint Peter’s School. You will go again in Hogsmeade when you are back in Hogwarts.”

James heaved a sigh, but didn’t complain any more.

“You will not have to organize prefect duties during the first half of the year, though,” McGonagall told her students. “You will not have to do rounds while you are here, at Saint Peter’s.”

“What about our timetables?” Lily asked.

Mrs. Trumbley handed her a pile of papers.

“Here they are. Don’t hesitate to ask your way throughout the school.”

“Do you have any questions for now?” Dumbledore asked the students.

They all shook their head.

“You have to be warned,” Dumbledore went on. “There will be altercations, tensions between Muggles and Wizards, in the school and outside. You must do as much as you can to make sure that this year is a success.”

They all nodded.

“You can go then, you must be hungry.”

“Err… Professor?” James asked hesitantly.

“Yes, Mr. Potter?”

“Could I… talk to you for a minute… alone?”

Dumbledore nodded.

“Come with me then.”

While the other students were leaving the office to head for the cafeteria, Dumbledore led James in an adjacent office, that had been prepared for him. It was much smaller than his office in Hogwarts, and instead of being filled with strange objects, it was rather empty, with a table, a few chairs, a desk… But there was also a large mantelpiece, that James guessed as directly linked to Hogwarts, and the walls were covered with red and golden shades. Despite the size of it, the office was warm and welcoming, just like the Headmaster’s office in Hogwarts.

He invited James to sit down.

“What troubles you, Mr. Potter?”

James sat down, suddenly nervous. And seeing James Potter nervous was rare enough for the Headmaster to raise an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong, James?” he asked, his voice warm and reassuring.

James stared at the elder Wizard.

“I… I’d like to know… Why? Why did you make me Head boy?”

The ghost of a smile curved up the corners of Dumbledore’s mouth.

“Why, are you doubting my judgment?” the Headmaster asked.

“You have to admit that I’m not the one who is the most fitted for the job.”

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

“Why would you not be the one to be chosen for Head Boy?”

“Have you forgotten how many detentions I had ? I wasn’t prefect either.”

Dumbledore leaned further over his desk, approaching the boy. His voice was low, and barely louder than a whisper.

“James, do you trust my judgment on people?”

“Of course I do, Professor,” the boy nodded.

“Why are you doubting my choice then?”

“I told you, I don’t think I have the perfect profile for a Head Boy.”

Dumbledore gave him a warm smile.

“And I think you have.”

James narrowed his eyes.

“I think you’re making a mistake, Professor. I can’t be Head Boy.”

“Are you asking me to choose someone else to be Head Boy?”

“I think it would be wiser.”

Dumbledore frowned.

“Is it because of Miss Evans? You don’t get along?”

“No, it has nothing to do with her,” James shook his head. “I just… I just think you’ll be disappointed.”

Dumbledore remained silent for a moment.

“I mean…” James went on. “I’m not like Evans, she was born to be Head Girl. I’m not. I set pranks, and I just… I’m not serious. I’m the kind of guy who never makes his essay before the very last minute, I’m messy, and completely unable to be… mature. I had tons of detentions… And I don’t… want to become serious.”

Dumbledore slowly nodded.

“James, I am not going to force you to be Head Boy,” Dumbledore told him. “But I know you would be good at it. And I do not wish to name someone else as Head Boy.”

James merely stared at the Headmaster.

“Trust me on this,” Dumbledore went on. “I know what I am doing. And if you don’t know yet what I see in you, I do.”

There was a long silent, during which the Headmaster and his student merely stared intensely at each other.

“What do you want to do, James. Do you want to at least try?”

The boy heaved a sigh.

“I’ll try. I’ll do my best.”

“Good,” Dumbledore told him, his tone reassuring. “You should go eat something now, James.”

The boy nodded, and walked out of the room. McGonagall entered the Headmaster’s office, without knocking.

“Is there something wrong with Mr. Potter?” she asked the Headmaster, clearly worried.

“He doubts my choice of naming him Head Boy.”

McGonagall nodded.

“He doesn’t want to take the responsibilities that go with it,” she breathed, half-lost in thought.

“I think he still needs a bit of time to get used to all this.”

“With this program with the Muggles, it’s going to be even more difficult to be Head Boy and Head Girl…”

“Oh, I don’t worry about Miss Evans and Mr. Potter. I know they will be more than capable of dealing with problems coming from both Muggles and Wizards. And I know you agree with me, Minerva. After all, you named him Captain of your Quidditch team.”

They exchanged a small smile, and McGonagall heaved a sigh.

“I hope he doesn’t get himself involved into too much trouble too soon though.”

———————————

When James walked out of Dumbledore’s office, he was more than surprised to find Lily waiting for him, leaning against the wall in the corridor.

“Can I do anything for you, Evans?” James asked her, his tone nonchalant.

“Is everything all right?” she asked him.

He could guess worry in her emerald eyes.

“Why, are you suddenly worrying about me, Evans?”

“You’re Head Boy, and Head duties are too much work for only one person to handle them on its own,” she shrugged. “But don’t be misunderstood, you’re still the most annoying guy in Hogwarts, Potter.”

“Ha, here, it sounds more like you,” James nodded, the cocky smirk that annoyed Lily so much back on his face. “Though I have to contradict you on this statement, Sirius is the most annoying guy in Hogwarts. I’m the most handsome.”

His smirk turned into a cocky grin, and she merely rolled her eyes in answer, feeling her blood boiling in her veins already.

Hell, this guy was driving her mad. Why, Merlin WHY had he to be Head Boy? Why not Remus? The kind, sweet Remus instead of the cocky James Potter?

“This is going to be a long year,” she sighed.

James bit his tongue, and swallowed back the joke he had in mind. He wanted her to stop hating him. After all, this year was his last chance with her, he needed to be more… mature.

“Why did you wait for me, you need anything?” James asked her, serious again.

“We need to organize this sport events. We also need to take care of the organization of our first night here, make sure that everyone has a dormitory, that no trunk is missing…”

“Okay.”

“We also have to give all the timetables right away, and I’d love to have help. I’ll take care of the Slytherins and the Ravenclaws if you want. Could you handle the Hufflepuffs and the Gryffindors?”

She handed him the timetables.

“Alright…” James nodded slowly, taking the papers. “You don’t want me to deal with the Slytherins though?”

“I don’t want a fight on our first day, no thank you.”

“I don’t fight every time I see a Slytherin,” he mumbled like a child.

“No, only when you talk to one,” she replied. “I can handle the Slytherins.”

At the sound of her voice, and the sight of her reddening cheeks, he knew she was getting annoyed. So again, he bit his tongue.

“As you wish,” he shrugged. “I’ll take care of the Hufflepuffs and the Gryffindors.”

“We also have to be extra-careful about the relations between Muggles and Wizards. So keep your eyes open. And if there is a problem, you’re to call for a teacher. Don’t try to play the hero.”

He nodded again, and Lily went on.

“McGonagall asked me to organize the pairing of prefects, even if we won’t have to deal with rounds. Could we do that tonight?”

“Err…Sure…”

“We’ll talk with Ellie and Jersey about the organization of the sport events tomorrow, we’ll join them right after lunch, before our first class of the afternoon.”

“Okay…”

“Can you do all that?” she asked him.

James rolled his eyes.

“I’ve done much harder things than pairing prefects, Evans,” he pointed out. “I can handle all that.”

“You’re sure? I mean, you’re new to all that.”

“I’m sure. I can handle it.”

“Alright then. We’ll see each other before diner.”

But they both took a step in the same direction.

“I’m starving as well,” James smiled when she frowned at him.

She nodded.

“I don’t really know how to go there though,” she said.

“It’s across the grounds.”

“You’re good at memorizing maps?”

A mischievous smile appeared on his lips.

“I’m used to mapping places.”

“Really?”

“You would be surprised.”

“Go on then, Potter. I’ll follow you. But hurry up, I’m hungry.”

“And I bet you’re terrifying when you’re hungry.”

“Indeed…”

“As long as you don’t give me your prefect glare…”

“Don’t tempt me, Potter.”

“Hey, Evans, can you believe it?”

“Believe what?”

“We are leading an entire conversation without you jinxing me or shouting your lungs out on me.”

Despite her best efforts to hide it, a small smile curved up her lips, and James didn’t fail to notice it, which explained the grin that appeared on his face.

“It’s normal, you haven’t asked me out yet,” she replied, amused.

“Or it’s just because you’re finally noticing my wonderful charisma?” he asked, clearly joking.

She shook her head, chuckling.

“Oh shut up, Potter.”


	3. Punching His Way Out

“Potions on our first day with the Slytherins… I think McGonagall wants to punish us for something. I don’t know why though, but she must have something against us.”

Remus nodded, eating a piece of chicken.

“I have to admit that it’s cruel,” he told Sirius.

James finally reappeared by their sides, after having given the Hufflepuffs their timetables. He let himself fall on the chair next to Sirius.

“This Head Boy thing sucks,” he sighed.

“All my condolences, Prongs,” Sirius told him, patting his shoulder. “It is the death of one of the Kings of mischief.”

“I don’t intend to stop planning pranks, Padfoot,” James reassured his friend. “Don’t worry, I won’t give up on you. Moreover, it’s our final year. We have to make sure we’ll be remembered as the best mischief makers Hogwarts has ever known.”

“You don’t like being tempered, do you?” Remus said, shaking his head, an amused smile on his face.

“Moony, we have to see big this year,” James replied. “Go big or go home.”

“We should make a prank right away,” Peter proposed.

Remus and James both nodded enthusiastically, but Sirius shook his head.

“I can’t do any prank this week,” he said.

“What are you talking about?” James frowned.

“I’ve made a bet with McKinnon. I can’t set up any prank for a week.”

“Why did you bet that?” Peter asked him, aghast.

Sirius heaved a sigh.

“We were bickering. And she said that I would never grow up and that I was just a childish arse basically.”

“It only means that she can read through people pretty well,” Remus teased him.

“Shut up, Moony. Anyway, I told her that I could easily hold on for an entire week without getting myself into trouble.”

“And what did you bet ?” James asked the boy.

“If I win, I have a drink. If she wins, I’ll have to leave her alone and don’t talk to her for a week.”

“Is there a way to take the bet as well?” Remus asked. “One week without listening to you would be restful, for sure.”

Sirius playfully threw a piece of bread at his friend, but he was chuckling nonetheless.

“Bastard…” he told Remus.

“It sucks though, Sirius,” James shook his head. “We need to make a prank, and we need to do it quickly.”

“Prongs, I want to win this bet.”

“Why? Is that so complicated to stop talking to her for a week?”

“Of course not, but still… I’ve never given up on a bet.”

James heaved a sigh, before biting in his piece of bread. He suddenly realized how many people were staring at him.

“Is it me or is everybody looking at us?” he asked his friends, holding a boy’s stare on the table next to theirs.

“Welcome to the zoo,” Sirius nodded. “It’s been this way since the very beginning of lunchtime. We are the monkeys, and they are the visitors who stare at us with wide eyes. Luckily, they haven’t tried to throw peanuts at us yet.”

James noticed a boy who was glaring at him. He seemed to be in his last year as well. As James was holding his stare, the boy suddenly stood up.

“Troubles ahead, guys,” James told his friends, as the Muggle boy was walking towards them.

A smile was suddenly plastered on James’s face, and he waited for the Muggle to arrive at their table. James looked more carefully at him : he was large, tall, muscular… James guessed he would need the help of Sirius if things were to turn violent.

“What can we do for you?” he asked the boy in his most polite ton.

“Get your arse out of my school,” the boy answered.

“Your school? What, are you the official owner?” James asked back.

“You and your kind have nothing to do here.”

“I’m afraid I’m starving, like every human in this room.”

“You lot have five minutes to get out of the cafeteria, or else…”

James raised an eyebrow.

“Or else… what?”

“You’ll throw pumpkins at us?” Sirius asked.

“Or more probably porridge, you know, it’s more Muggle-like,” James corrected his friend.

“Of course, my apologies.”

“Or else I’ll make you get out,” the Muggle boy replied, a violent glint shining in his eyes, his face twisted with fury.

“And how do you intend to do that?” Sirius asked, his voice frozen all of a sudden.

“You don’t belong here,” the Muggle went on. “You’re just monsters…”

Sirius and James stood up as one man.

“Say that again, just to see…” James breathed.

“Is there a problem there?”

They all turned towards McGonagall.

“No, professor,” Remus answered, standing up as well, resting a soothing hand on Sirius’s shoulder.

“Why don’t you go finish your meal, young man,” she told the Muggle boy.

He growled, glaring at the teacher, but turned around anyway and sat back at his table.

McGonagall looked at the two Gryffindors.

“Don’t get in trouble on your first day,” the teacher warned the two boys.

“He’s the one who came to us and insulted us, Professor,” James replied. “Not the other way around.”

“And I hope you intended to let him talk instead of using violence,” she answered.

James bit his tongue, and sat back in his chair.

“And no pranks,” she warned the four Marauders, waving her finger at them. “Is that clear?”

They all reluctantly nodded.

“Good… Because I’m keeping an eye on you all.”

McGonagall walked away, leaving the four boys alone around their table.

James heaved a sigh.

“This year sucks…” he breathed.

———————————————————

“I can’t believe you made a bet with Black.”

“Alice, he was annoying, that was the only chance I had to make him shut up.”

“And you and Potter agreeing on a truce is also freaking me out.”

“Alice…”

Lily heaved a desperate sigh.

“You’re the annoying one, right one,” the girl told her friend.

“By the way, I think we’re lost,” Marlene pointed out, looking all around her at the dusty corridor.

It was the first time she actually regretted the annoying paintings of Hogwarts. In this school, all the corridors looked just the same…

“I mean… you’ve kept on claiming that you hated Potter since… since first year, actually…” Alice went on, ignoring her friends’ remarks.

“I still hate him,” Lily reassured her. “It’s just that he’s Head Boy now, and I’m Head Girl. And even if I don’t like it, I have to work with him. So, we’d both better try to be… polite.”

“I think we need to go down these stairs,” Marlene said, trying to remember what a Muggle student had told her a few minutes ago when she had asked where the labs were.

“So you… don’t plan on getting friendly with Potter, do you?” Alice asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course not. Polite will be enough. I reckon that it’d be a miracle if I manage to finish the day without cursing him.”

“Actually, hate and love are the closest feelings a human being can feel. Did you know that?” Marlene asked Lily, a mischievous glint alit in her eyes.

“Oh, so you’re talking about your brand new relationship with Black then?” Lily fired back.

Marlene glared at her.

“Don’t be stupid. And anyway, I’ve never said I hated him,” Marlene added. “I just don’t like his company much, that’s all. I don’t hate him.”

They finally arrived before the laboratory where they would follow their Potions classes for the first part of the year. The corridor was dusty, and smelled like moist. It was close to the dungeons actually…

“I don’t really hate Potter either, if you want to know the truth,” Lily said softly, fidgeting her skirt. “He’s just childish and annoying, and infuriating, and… okay, I don’t like being within the same room as him.”

“You hate him,” Alice stated.

“Who hates who?”

The three girls jumped at the sound of Sirius’s voice.

“Me, you,” Marlene answered.

Sirius shook his head.

“I don’t hate you, McKinnon,” he told her, an annoying smirk plastered on his handsome face.

She merely rolled her eyes in answer.

“Did you give the others their timetables?” Lily asked James.

The boy nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by his friend behind him.

“Time for fun…” Remus mumbled under his breath, as the Slytherins were coming down the stairs, entering the corridor.

Bellatrix Black with her look of madness on her face, Mulciber and Avery, talking to each other, Lestrange, leading the little group, and in the cue, Severus Snape, following and listening closely to whatever the others were saying.

Lily couldn’t help but feel rage rising in her heart at the sight of the boy who had once been her closest friend. She had tried to forget about that day at the end of their fifth year. But there were words that hurt too much to be taken back or forgotten.

The Slytherins slowed down at the sight of the Gryffindors, before Bellatrix Black would whisper something to the boys around her, and advance towards the other Hogwarts students.

“Cousin! How were your holidays?” she asked Sirius.

“I was away from Grimmauld Place, so it was pretty perfect,” Sirius smiled, though he couldn’t help but glare at her.

“You don’t ask me how were my holidays?” she asked, pouting.

“Well, no.”

“Why not?”

“Because… A : I hate you,” Sirius answered matter-of-factly, counting on his fingers. “B : just the sight of you makes me want to vomit, C : I don’t give a damn about you. Shall I continue?”

The Gryffindors couldn’t help but chuckle, but Bellatrix glowered at Sirius.

“You should watch your tone, Black,” Lestrange warned Sirius.

The two black haired boys stared at each other, and Sirius frowned as Lestrange got closer to Bellatrix.

“Oh Merlin…” Sirius breathed, his eyes suddenly round with horror. “Don’t tell me you two are…”

Sirius closed his eyes tightly, wincing.

“That’s so disgusting… Imagining the two of you together is just so disgusting… I can’t dare to imagine what the monsters you could have for children would look like.”

“I reckon their sanity will be the worst part of them, Sirius,” James nodded.

Bellatrix ignored the last remark, and turned towards Sirius again, a content smile on her face.

“Well, I had a wonderful summer,” she told her cousin.

“Wonderful! Now, why don’t you turn around and keep walking until you fall dead?” Sirius snapped back.

“Well… there have been lots of good things going on in the summer, don’t you think so, McKinnon?”

Marlene was suddenly paler than sheets.

“Well, what’s going on, McKinnon?” Lestrange went on. “The cat got your tongue?”

In any other circumstances, Marlene would have answered. A clever, witty phrase would have passed her lips, like only her knew how. But it seemed that her tongue had turned to lead. She couldn’t manage to open her mouth and speak, she could barely manage to breathe actually.

How could she answer? How could she be clever when her brain couldn’t work? How could she be strong when her entire world had crumbled, when she was crumbling herself?

How could she defend herself when all she could see was her parents lying dead on the ground…?

She jumped when Sirius placed himself between her and the Slytherins.

“You should all shut your mouth,” Sirius advised.

“What? You’re taking her defence now?” Bellatrix raised an eyebrow.

“Shut up,” Sirius repeated.

“She was merely pointing out that we celebrated when these traitors of mudblood-lovers were killed,” Lestrange said, a nasty smile on his lips.

The next second, Sirius was pressing the tip of his wand into Lestrange’s throat.

And in the blink of an eye, everyone in the corridor had their wands at the ready.

“Why don’t we all calm down,” Snape proposed.

“You should shut your dirty mouth, Snivellus,” James snapped back.

“He’s right, though,” Lily said. “We don’t have the right to use magic out of class as long as we’re in this school.”

“So what do you propose?” James told her, his tone aggressive. “Just act as if nothing here had happened?”

“They’re not worth all of us being expelled,” Marlene breathed, her voice shaking.

Sirius turned around, looking at her. Her jaw was clenched, and her cheeks were reddening as anger seemed to rise in her, but when he looked at her eyes, they were shining with tears and drowning in sorrow and grief.

He nodded slowly, before looking at Lestrange again.

“She’s right, it’s stupid to be expelled for that, don’t you think?”

Lestrange nodded, and they all slowly lowered their wands.

“Although, I do think that you’re an arse and you need someone to teach you a lesson,” Sirius went on.

He smiled, before punching Lestrange as hard as he could.

The next second, they were both rolling on the ground, beating each other. Soon, James, Remus and Peter had joined the fight against the Slytherins…

Sirius was already bleeding, he could feel the warm liquid rolling down his chin. He had to close his eyes as the Slytherin’s fist hit his eyebrow…

“Stop!” Lily cried.

Suddenly, all the boys were separated, pushed against the opposite walls of the corridor. Although Sirius and Lestrange were both bleeding, the other boys seemed to be unhurt.

“What is it all about?!” Professor Slughorn roared, walking towards the students.

The boys sheepishly looked down at the ground.

“You should all be ashamed of yourselves!” Slughorn went on. “Who started this fight?”

No one spoke a word.

“Who?”

Again, only silence answered the angry teacher.

“Do I really have to call for Professor Dumbledore?” he asked.

Sirius heaved a sigh.

“I started it,” the four Gryffindors answered as one man.

But Sirius shook his head.

“Guys… stop it.”

He looked at Slughorn.

“I punched Lestrange, and the others defended me. It’s my fault, Professor.”

Slughorn nodded.

“Well, as you admitted your guilt, I won’t punish your friends, but you and Mr. Lestrange will have detentions.”

He freed the students from his spell.

“Everyone get inside the classroom,” Slughorn told the students, before turning towards Sirius and Lestrange. “You two, you’re coming with me, you need to be healed.”

They all walked into the classroom while Slughorn was guiding Sirius and Lestrange to the sickbay.

“Mr. Black,” Slughorn said, as they were walking throughout the school, “you’ll go see Professor McGonagall right after you’ve been healed. And you, Mr. Lestrange, I’ll be waiting for you right after class.”

Sirius clenched his jaw, throwing a hateful glare at Lestrange.

McGonagall was going to kill him…

———————————————————————–

“So…”

Sirius struggled to swallow. He was sitting opposite to McGonagall, in her classroom. She had changed the decoration of the room so it would look like an exact copy of her classroom in Hogwarts. And Sirius was grateful for it. It felt a bit like he was home… despite the fact that he was about to be murdered by his teacher.

“Could you tell me again what I told you and your friends at noon?” McGonagall asked him in her most severe tone.

“That we had to stay out of trouble,” Sirius answered, looking down at her desk.

“And yet you punched one of your classmates not an hour after my warning.”

Sirius remained silent.

“I hope you have a good reason for fighting Mr. Lestrange.”

Sirius looked at her, clenching his jaw.

He didn’t like telling anything to his teachers, even if it involved a Slytherin he hated. He felt like a rat every time.

“Sirius,” she encouraged him, her tone softer. “Talk to me.”

The boy merely stared at her.

“I reckon it helped you, the last time you were in trouble.”

Sirius clenched his jaw a little tighter, looking down at his shoes. Of course, she knew that the incident at the Whomping Willow involving Remus and Snape was his weakness.

“I’ve been involved in many other fights since, Professor,” Sirius pointed out.

“Yes, but usually it involves Mr. Potter. And this time, you chose to bear the blame alone. I’d like to know why you fought.”

“James was involved in the fight…”

“But not as one of the direct instigators. Or else, he would have never had let you be the only one sitting here now. I know my students, Mr. Black.”

He couldn’t refrain a smile at the sound of the pride badly hidden in her voice.

“Why did you fight, Sirius? Was it about your parents?”

He shook his head, before sighing. He knew she wouldn’t drop the subject. She was too stubborn for that.

“Lestrange and Bellatrix messed up with McKinnon.”

McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

“Did they?”

Sirius nodded, not daring to look at the teacher in the eyes. He felt miserable at the idea of reporting anything to her, even if he knew they deserved it, even if it meant doing what was right. It wasn’t in his nature to do so.

“They… they mocked the death of her parents.”

McGonagall leaned over her desk, her cheeks reddening.

“Did they?” she asked again, anger badly hidden in her tone.

Once more, Sirius nodded. He finally looked up at his teacher.

“I reckon Lestrange deserved to be punched in the face for that,” Sirius said.

But McGonagall shook her head.

“I understand that you wanted to defend your friend,” she said slowly, her tone less severe than usual. “But in the current situation, with all that is happening inside and outside this school, we cannot use violence.”

“But…”

“Sirius, you should have reported this to Professor Slughorn.”

Sirius mockingly snickered.

“And what would he have done?”

“Sirius, it is very important that you understand how delicate the situation we are in is.”

“I do, professor. Trust me, I do.”

“We are lucky you didn’t fight against a Muggle student.”

“If a Muggle was to laugh at the face of Marlene about the death of her parents, he would receive a punch in the face as well. You see, no discriminations.”

“This could compromise all our work. And this is probably the last chance we have before an open war.”

Sirius remained silent.

“You must remain more peaceful in the future. These are mere words. Be cleverer than them, see on the long term. I know you’re smart enough not to fall into every trap they throw at you.”

Sirius nodded slowly.

“You’re not going to listen to this advice, are you?” McGonagall asked.

The boy shook his head, and the look of steel was back in the teacher’s eyes.

“You’ll have detentions, every Saturday for a month,” she said, her voice as severe as usual again. “And 50 points will be taken from Gryffindor for your reaction. Now get out.”

Sirius hurried outside, closing the door behind him. He rested his back against the wooden surface, heaving a deep sigh.

Hell, he was in big trouble…

He finally noticed the presence of someone else in the corridor.

He raised both eyebrows in surprise as he looked at Marlene McKinnon coming his way.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“How are you?” she replied.

He shrugged.

“Mrs. Pomfrey was there. She patched me up all right.”

“It wasn’t anything serious, was it?”

“Just a few scratches and bruises. Nothing I can’t handle.”

Marlene nodded.

“Were you actually waiting here for me?” Sirius asked her, a cocky smile forming at the corner of his mouth.

It was her turn to shrug.

“You did defend me, I reckon I had to come for news. See if you had died of your wounds.”

“I’m still alive,” he smiled.

“Shit… too bad,” she replied, smiling as well.

Sirius’s smile turned quickly into a grin.

“Why don’t we take a walk?” he proposed.

“We’re supposed to go to class, you know that?” she replied.

He rolled his eyes.

“History of Magic has already started anyway.”

“Five minutes ago, and it’s not like the ghost will notice anything if we arrive five minutes late for his class.”

“He will probably not realize if we don’t come at all.”

“It’s our first day, don’t you think you should attend all classes at least once during the year.”

“I usually go to all classes.”

“And pay attention in how many of them?”

“Everything that doesn’t involve a ghost teaching or looking for my future in a cup of coffee. I hate coffee.”

“Good to know, I’ll sure make you one then.”

He smiled again.

“Come on, let’s go. Take a walk with me,” he insisted, starting to walk down the corridor.

Marlene heaved a sigh, but followed him anyway.

“Where are you going?” she asked after a few minutes of silence, as she followed him throughout the school.

Sirius shrugged, before nodding towards a little alcove down an adjacent corridor. They both sat side by side, looking at the paved grounds by the window right next to them. Marlene rested her head against the window, the glass cold against her skin.

“Thank you,” she finally said after another long silence. “For what you’ve done with the Slytherins.”

“Anytime,” he merely nodded.

She looked at him, her gaze too intense for him to keep on looking away.

“I just… I wanted to answer, you know… to say something back to them,” she admitted. “But I… I couldn’t. I felt too weak to do that.”

A small smile formed on his lips.

“I was surprised not to hear you fight back,” he nodded. “That’s why I acted in your stead.”

“It’s just… it’s too soon for me to… handle the whole thing. I’m not ready yet.”

He nodded. Somehow, he seemed to understand…

She had tried to talk about how she felt to Lily and Alice, but the two girls couldn’t understand. They were both loved by their families, they hadn’t lost anyone in this war… because whatever name people gave to what was happening in their world, Marlene knew it was a war. Somehow, none of her friends had suffered enough to have only a fraction of the idea of how she felt.

The same day she had lost her brother, her sister, her parents and her aunt. An entire family erased from the surface of the Earth. Except her. The lucky rebel who had secretly walked out of the house a few hours before to find back a boy in Diagon Alley.

When she had come home, the dark mark was floating above the roof of her house, and there were Aurors everywhere.

She shivered at the memory, and pushed the thought away.

But when she was looking at Sirius, she didn’t read the pity she could see in her friends’ eyes. She could see compassion. She could see understanding. As if he was broken enough himself to know what it was like to feel so lost that your life seemed to be a mere knife, and you had to keep walking on the sharp edge from now on.

One wrong step, and you would fall into a darkness that had started to devour your heart. One wrong step, and you would die.

It felt like he had the same kind of darkness fighting for dominance inside him as well. And that was why he didn’t pity her.

“You said… you said you ran away from your family,” she said slowly, looking intensely at him.

Sirius clenched his jaw, but nodded anyway.

“Yeah… I went to the Potters.”

“Why did you do that? I mean, I know you’ve never really… been close to your family but…”

He let out a bitter laugh.

“They’re insane,” he corrected her. “And I’m not. Or at least not the same kind of insane.”

“It’s true then, what they say? That they support Voldemort?”

Sirius nodded, finally managing to free his glance from hers, and look outside again.

“And you’re not,” she added.

It was a statement, not a question. So Sirius merely nodded again in response.

“Do you feel… lost as well?” she asked him. “Do you feel like… you shouldn’t be where you are now?”

He nodded one more time.

“I’ve never belonged with my family,” he said slowly. “So… I don’t even know what it’s like not to be lost, to be honest.”

His voice was lower than usual. She could see it was hard for him to force the words out of his mouth.

But he knew she needed to know that she wasn’t the only one who didn’t have anything in this world except Hogwarts. That’s what he had been missing during all his life. This feeling that someone could understand. Because for sure his friends were kind, and tried to help as much as they could, and he knew he was lucky to have them by his side, and he also knew that they had partially saved his soul. But he still felt out of place. He still felt lonely all the time. And it was slowly killing him.

He wanted to give her the help no one had been able to give him when he had needed it the most. And to do that, he needed to tell her things he would have never imagined telling anyone.

“I feel like I don’t deserve the help the Potters give me,” he went on. “I feel like I’m in debt.”

She nodded.

“That’s how I feel about Lily’s family as well. Like I don’t belong there. I’m just a guest who stayed at their house longer than it was planned at first.”

Sirius nodded, giving her a smile that was full of understanding.

“Yeah, that’s what it feels like.”

“No one seems to understand that, though. That… no matter how hard you try, you can’t belong there. You can’t forget the life you had before.”

“I don’t think they do it on purpose,” he reassured her. “I think it’s the kind of feeling you can only understand when you’ve experienced it yourself.”

She nodded slowly, looking at the grey sky.

“I miss them,” she breathed.

She looked for his hand, and his fingers found hers.

His hold on her fingers was soft, warm, reassuring… it felt like a fire in the middle of a snow storm.

“Is there anyone you miss in your family?” she asked him, their glances still set on the grey clouds drifting away.

“I miss my little brother,” he answered, his voice barely more than a whisper. “It wasn’t his fault. He was too young. I should have protected him more. Maybe… maybe he wouldn’t have wanted to fit into their world if I had been there for him.”

“You never speak about all that.”

“It hurts.”

She looked at him again. She had never seen so much sadness in his grey eyes. She was used to see a joyful clown. But now he looked like a broken boy.

“It feels good to know that I’m not the only one who’s life is completely fucked up,” she smiled.

He looked at her again, smiling as well.

“You’re right, it does feel good not to be alone.”

“But… you know… your act of chivalry has one disadvantage for you.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Really? And what could that disadvantage be?”

“You lost your bet. In less than three hours, that’s a record.”

He laughed, a clear, loud laugh that echoed throughout the corridor.

Suddenly, the mischievous Gryffindor was back…

“I didn’t lose my bet,” he said. “We made a bet about pranks. And I didn’t do any prank yet.”

“But you got yourself into trouble.”

“That wasn’t a prank. And as I got into trouble because of you, I’m surprised you dare to try to cheat with this argument.”

“I’m not cheating.”

“You are trying to cheat, McKinnon.”

She smiled.

“Alright… but actually, I have a favour to ask you.”

“A favour?” he asked, surprised.

“I’d really appreciate it if you could set up a prank against the Slytherins. You know… to make…”

“To avenge you?”

“Yeah…”

“That would make me lose my bet. I can’t do that.”

“What if I withdraw?”

He grinned, a cocky smirk on his face.

“If you want to buy me a drink, McKinnon, you don’t have to use our bet as an excuse, you know?”

She softly punched his upper arm.

“And I thought I had been wounded enough for your beautiful eyes for one day…” he laughed, faking outrage.

She couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“Don’t tempt me, I could try to use your methods, instead of asking nicely. I could punch my way out of this bet.”

Sirius doubled in laughter.

“You’re too scary for me to try to provoke you, McKinnon.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

“100%.”

“You’re such a pain the arse.”

They were laughing so much, they could barely breathe.

“Come on, could you do that for me?” she asked as they finally calmed down enough to speak.

“Then you withdraw, and I win our bet?”

She sighed.

“That’s a deal, Black.”

He grinned.

“I can’t wait till our first trip to Diagon Alley,” he said. “I’ll make you buy the best firewhiskey they have.”

They laughed again, their laughter flying across the corridor and crashing against the walls of stone. It seemed that the sound was waking up the deserted, dusty corridor. It seemed that the sky was not that much grey anymore.

They hadn’t noticed it, but they were still holding hands.

It felt like they were not that much alone anymore.

Maybe the world was not completely fucked up after all.


	4. What Being A Headboy Implies

He was late. He knew Lily would be mad at him. He didn’t want her to feel like he was letting her down on the very first day, but he had had to take news of Sirius. And well… he also had to make sure to tease his best friend with his brand new relationship with McKinnon. He reckoned that if Sirius had wanted to seduce her, he would have done so long ago. But still, teasing Sirius was one of his favourite things in the world, he couldn’t waste an opportunity, could he?

Now he was running down the corridor, hurrying throughout the school. He had to find Lily at the cafeteria. He took a look at his watch.

17:10.

They were supposed to meet at 5 pm.

Fuck…

She was going to kill him.

Here it was, the end of James Potter.

He bumped into a wall, failing at turning at the corner, and he resumed his running, massaging his painful arm.

He looked at the time again.

17:13.

He could see the picture perfectly.

Murderer : Lily Evans

Weapon : Wand

Cause of Death : Broken skull after having been cursed so hard he flew across the whole city and finished hitting the Elizabeth Tower, staying stuck into the giant clock.

At least, the authorities would have the precise hour of his death…

17:15

And on his tomb, he knew perfectly what Sirius would write : “Here rests James Potter, the only trouble maker who managed to get Head Boy when he received more than 300 hours of detentions over the years. Well done, Prongs. You fucked up your reputation.”

He made a mental note to make sure to erase Sirius from his last will.

17:17

Finally, he reached the door of the cafeteria. He stopped on the threshold, taking a moment to partially catch his breath. But he didn’t have the chance.

The door was open, as always. Apparently, the cafeteria was always open. During their two last years, the students could always have fruits and drinks, and most students used the room to study when they had to work in groups, as they couldn’t talk in the library. So when he leaned against the doorframe, and looked inside the room, he saw her there, sitting near the window, looking at the grounds. The light was soft, pale after the rain of the previous hours. Her hair looked like a halo of flames, her eyes greener than the grass in spring.

He couldn’t catch his breath, his heart had stopped anyway.

He reckoned he needed to correct the circumstances of his death.

Murderer : Lily Evans

Weapon : that little smile on her lips

Cause of death : Heart attack after being awestruck

Engraving on his tomb : “Here rests James Potter, who’s heart was too fragile to face Lily Evans’ beauty. Well done, Prongs. You’re a lovesick moron.”

He struggled to swallow, trying to calm down the butterflies in his stomach, but it wasn’t working at all.

Hell, he was so pathetic when it came to her.

He walked into the room, coming closer to her. Now, he could see the shy freckles that stained her cheekbones and nose.

Hell, she was so…

“Hey,” he breathed as he reached her table.

She started, looking up at him.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” he went on, sitting next to her. “I was talking with Sirius. I had to check if he was alright after what happened at lunchtime.”

“Don’t worry,” she reassured him. “I was late too actually. I spoke to Marls. I just arrived two minutes ago.”

James let out a relieved sigh.

“Okay, I was afraid you’d be mad at me for being late.”

“It’s okay.”

She picked up her quill and a piece of parchment.

“Alright, we have to pair up the prefects and decide when they will do their patrols. The ones in their 7th year will have to be paired together, ‘cause they won’t start their patrols until we’re back at Hogwarts.”

“All right.”

“Some extra prefects have been chosen by the Heads of House so that there are enough prefects in Hogwarts. McGonagall gave me a list of their names. We’ll go to Hogwarts on Sunday, and have a meeting with the prefects. We’ll have to make sure the meetings fit with the Quidditch practices. Do you know when you will do the tryouts?”

“Probably this week.”

“You have to tell McGonagall so that she can put a note in the Common Room. You should do that as soon as possible.”

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”

“Okay. So, first, we have to do the pairings, that’s the most urgent thing we have to do.”

“What if we pair up two people who hate each other together?”

“They have until Sunday to change the pairings, they’ll tell us by then. As long as they mix up with other houses, it’s fine.”

James nodded. He took a deep breath, before diving, trying to sound very natural.

“Do we have to do rounds too? As Head Boy and Head Girl?”

“Yep, we do,” she nodded, reading the list of the prefects’ names.

“Hmm… Do you think we should be paired together?”

She looked suspiciously at him.

“I mean… between Quidditch and Head meetings and the NEWTs… It’s gonna be a bit complicated to get organized, don’t you think?” he explained. “If you add to that two different moments for our rounds, it’s gonna be impossible for us to talk about Head duties.”

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowed, trying to read through him.

“Potter?” she said in a firm tone.

“Yeah, Evans?” he answered in his most innocent tone, that he often used with McGonagall when she caught him and his friends red-handed.

“It’s not one of your twisted way to ask me out, is it?”

“Of course not.”

She clenched her jaw, glaring at him now.

He was awful at lying. He had always been awful at lying. His cheekbones always reddened when he lied. It was discreet, almost invisible, but when you learned to see this detail, it was impossible to be fooled by the boy.

And as a Gryffindor girl, it was a question of survival for her and her friends to know how to read through his and Sirius’s lies. She had learned the trick long ago.

“I won’t go out with you, Potter. I thought I had been clear over the years…”

“That’s not what…”

“I won’t go out with you, not now, not ever.”

“I know that.”

“I told you once that I would rather go out with the Giant Squid, and I meant it.”

“I know you did.”

“So…”

“So… that’s not why I proposed the two of us to be paired together.”

She slightly wrinkled her nose, clearly not convinced. She seemed to think for a moment.

“If you want, you can still pair me with Remus,” James added, trying to reassure her. “I mean… he’s one of my best friends, I’m not going to complain.”

Actually he would. He would cy all night long until Sirius would get bored and cast a sleeping spell on him. And he would hate Remus till the end of his days.

Actually, no, not until the end of his days. Moony was too kind, he could never stay mad at him for more than a day. But James would stop talking to him for an entire day, that was for sure. Even if Remus didn’t have anything to do with it, it didn’t matter, he would have to pass his nerves on someone eventually.

“Actually, you have a point,” Lily sighed, tearing James away from his thoughts. “With Quidditch, we’ll never manage if we don’t do our rounds together. All right then, let’s do that.”

“We don’t have to if it’s a problem for you.”

“No, no that’s all right. And if you actually do ask me out during one of our rounds I’ll attach you and leave you during the entire night hanging at the Astronomy Tower. Is that clear?”

He smiled. This crooked smile of his that annoyed her so much.

Oh Merlin…

“That’s a deal, Evans,” and his smile turned into a grin.

She nodded, writing their two names next to each other on the parchment.

It took them half an hour to pair up the prefects (James hated the idea of pairing Gryffindors and Slytherins together, it seemed like a form of torture to him, and it took a while for Lily to convince him). Organizing the rounds took them 20 minutes more. And during all this time, they didn’t fight, nor shouted. He didn’t give her one of his lines, and she didn’t get irritated every time he opened his mouth.

They both reckoned that their relationship was improving.

“We’ll see about the events we have to organize with the Muggles tomorrow after lunch,” she told him as they were folding the parchments.

“We could meet here. I don’t know for you, but I don’t know my way around quite yet,” he answered.

“No, me neither.”

“Have you been to the dorms yet?”

She shook her head.

“Do you think we’ll have dorms for ourselves, like in Hogwarts?”

She shook her head again.

“I don’t think so.”

He struggled to hide his disappointment. Sharing dorms with Lily was one of the rare good sides of being Head Boy…

As they both made a movement to take the quill that laid on the table, their hands collided, their fingers touching softly.

They stared at each other for a moment, perfectly still.

Lily saw James biting his tongue, probably to avoid one of his cocky remarks to pass his lips. He slowly took his hand away from hers.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay,” she mumbled as well, blushing.

Somehow, they couldn’t manage to look away from each other.

She hated him. Hell, he was so fucking annoying all the time.

But… she had to admit he had beautiful hazel eyes…

She cleared her voice, picking up the quill and finally tearing herself away from his stare.

“Let’s go. I have to find Marlene before diner time,” she said.

James nodded, closing his bag while he tried to slow down his racing heart.

“And I have to see the boys.”

“All right then…”

They walked out of the cafeteria together, and stopped before parting in the corridor.

“Could you make sure that all the boys have their trunks tonight?” she asked James. “I’ll check for the girls.”

“Sure,” James nodded.

She brushed a lock of her red hair behind her ear, making his heart jump against his ribs.

“See you later then,” she said.

She sounded like she was uncomfortable all of a sudden.

“See you, Evans.”

She turned on her heels and hurried down the corridor.

James stared at her as she walked away. He heaved a sigh, throwing his head backwards. He had managed to behave the entire time. He reckoned that their colliding hands had fucked up everything though. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

He missed the image of Lily turning one last time towards him before disappearing around the corner.

——————————————————

“I can’t believe you’ve spent all this time talking with Sirius.”

Marlene rolled her eyes.

“Alice, we just talked.”

“First you make a bet,” Alice went on, ignoring her friend’s remark. “And then you spend two hours talking with him alone in a corridor.”

“Yes, you’re right, we talked. He happens to understand my situation way better than anyone else does.”

“He’s not an orphan,” Alice reminded her friend. “And it’s Black we’re talking about. He’s the heartbreaker of Hogwarts.”

“I know that. I’m missing your point though.”

“I’m just saying that he’s not the most reliable bloke on this school.”

“Well, of course, now you’re going to brag about your boyfriend,” Marlene rolled her eyes.

“No…”

“That’s what you always end up doing, Alice. As if Frank was perfect.”

“He is though.”

“For you. Not for us,” Marlene replied, pointing at herself and Lily.

“She has a point,” Lily nodded.

Alice didn’t reply, merely planting her fork into her potato.

Suddenly, Sirius Black was standing right next to the girls.

“Hi there!” he exclaimed merrily.

Behind him, his four friends were waiting for him at the door of the cafeteria. He ignored Lily’s and Alice’s surprised look, and directly turned to Marlene.

“Our faithful Captain will set up the trainings for this Sunday. You’ll have to be there, we need a chaser.”

Marlene nodded.

“What time?”

“No idea for now. But don’t plan anything for that day.”

“All right.”

“Oh… and I’ve sent James on a mission to find when the first trip to London is supposed to take place.”

Alice and Lily exchanged a curious glance. But Marlene merely raised an eyebrow, trying to refrain a smile.

“And… how could that be any of my concerns?”

“You owe me a drink,” he replied with a cocky smile.

“And I have a bottle of firewhiskey in my trunk.”

It was his time to raise an eyebrow.

“I guess you won’t need to wait for the trip to London to honour your debt then.”

“That will depend. You never mentioned when I was supposed to pay you a drink.”

“Why do I reckon that this will depend on my performance as a trouble maker?”

“Let’s say that I’ll be more inclined to pay you a drink if you avenge me well.”

His typical crooked smile appeared on his lips, his eyes shining with mischief.

“Is that a bet?” he asked, his voice daring.

She shrugged.

“Why not?” she accepted.

“You’ll give me that drink within 3 days after the prank if I win.”

“And if you lose, you’ll have to wait for London.”

“That’s a deal.”

They shook hands.

Lily cleared her throat.

“I’m afraid I’ve misheard you…” she said, looking at the two smiling Gryffindors. “Did I hear about pranks?”

Sirius rolled his eyes.

“Evans… stop being a prefect for a second.”

“I’m not a prefect anymore. I’m Head Girl.”

“Even worse…”

“We can’t take the risk of creating any incident with Muggles, Black!”

“I know that. That’s why I’m not going to target Muggles. Only the good old cockroaches that have been transformed into Slytherins.”

“Black…”

“Evans, you should trust us really…”

“Wait… us! Don’t drag Potter into this.”

Sirius chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

“Since when do you care so much about James getting in trouble?”

“I don’t care about him. But he’s Head Boy. And that’s a lot of work. With the NEWTs, I can’t handle everything on my own. I need him to stay in this school.”

“Yeah… I believe you…”

“If you don’t want to die young, I’d advise you to shut your mouth.”

“Relax, Ginger Devil. I won’t have a bad influence on our deal old James. He’s already good at jumping into trouble anyway.”

He ignored Lily as she opened her mouth to answer, and turned towards McKinnon again.

“Good night, McKinnon.”

“'Night, Black.”

And Sirius turned on his heels, whistling merrily, joining his friends and walking out of the cafeteria.

Alice and Lily stared at their friend.

“What?” Marlene asked innocently, eating a piece of bread.

“What the hell is this all about?” Lily asked her, glaring.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about. What is this whole story of pranks all about?”

—————————————————————–

“What… you made another bet with McKinnon?”

Remus stared at him, his reprobating look plastered on his face. This look he used every time Sirius or James would misbehave.

Which meant every single day, often several times a day.

“Yep,” Sirius nodded. “She asked me to avenge her from the Slytherins. And don’t give me that look, Moony. I’m being chivalrous, like a real Gryffindor. I answer to the call of a damsel in distress.”

“Chivalry my arse. Marlene is everything but a damsel in distress.”

“Hey, you were not against setting a prank earlier today,” Sirius reminded the werewolf.

Remus blinked.

“I’ve never said I was against the idea of setting a prank against the Slytherins.”

“But…?”

“But I’m worried about your intentions towards Marlene. She’s very kind, you know?”

“I know. And my intentions are to win this bet and get a free drink.”

“You and firewhiskey…”

“An old love story.”

“An awful idea,” Remus corrected his friend.

The door of the boy’s dorm suddenly opened on Frank Longbottom and Caradoc Dearborn. Sirius stopped them, waving his hand before him.

“Watch out! Big prank in preparation. If you want to sleep, put a sound-proofing spell on your curtains. Or you get out.”

“What do you think we did the second we set a foot in this dorm?” Frank asked back, before walking towards his bed.

The beds were four-posters, very similar to the ones at Hogwarts actually, except that the covers and the curtains were not red and golden, and the beds were not set up in circle, but aligned against the two longer walls of the rectangular room.

Eleven beds were set in this dormitory, for only six boys in Gryffindor. None of the Marauders was very happy at the idea of sharing their dorm with new boys, but it didn’t look like they had a choice anyway. They guessed that the five remaining beds would belong to Muggles, but they had not arrived yet.

The four Marauders had taken the four beds the further away from the door, and were now sitting cross-legged on the floor between their beds, in the middle of the room.

“You all have all your things, by the way?” James asked the newcomers.

They both nodded, frowning.

“Sure, why?” Caradoc asked.

“Lily asked me to check if all the boys had their trunks.”

“That’s why you disappeared after we arrived here?” Remus asked his friend.

“Yeah, I went to check for the other houses.”

All the dorms were set in the same corridor. And James had to admit that he didn’t like having his dorm so close to the Slytherins. But again, they didn’t have much choice anyway.

“Oh… so Ginger Devil is making sure you’re acting like a good little Head Boy…” Sirius mocked his friend.

Sirius received a Bertie Bott’s Jelly Bean in the face in response.

“I have to behave this year,” James told him. “Because it’s my last chance with Lily, and because Dumbledore seems to rely on me for everything to be fine with the Muggles…”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Sirius interrupted his best friend, his eyes wide in horror. “You’re not going to abandon us, are you?”

James rolled his eyes.

“Of course not, Pads. We are the mischief makers of Hogwarts. And that won’t change. I just… need to deal with Head Duties as well. And Quidditch. And my NEWTs. And Lily…”

“If you turn into a prefect this year, I swear on Merlin’s beard, James Potte,r I’ll turn you into a toad and throw you in a cauldron full of snakes.”

“Hey, I’m a prefect,” Remus protested. “See, you can plan pranks and be a figure of authority.”

“You’re not a figure of authority, Remus,” Sirius corrected him. “You’re the kindest bloke in Hogwarts.”

“You know what I meant.”

“Sirius, I swear, I won’t turn into an angel,” James reassured him.

The door of their dorm suddenly opened, filling the room with the sound of laughs.

The five Muggle boys who were studying with them entered, stopping their conversation as they entered the dormitory and saw the Wizards.

“Well, looks like we’re gonna share our dorms together as well,” a blond boy, named Richard, said.

“Looks like it, yeah,” James nodded.

The four Marauders exchanged a glance. They couldn’t prepare their prank if the Muggles were around…

“So… how was your first day?” Joey asked them.

“Fine enough,” James nodded.

“We heard about a fight, is that true?” a dark haired boy, named Albert, asked.

“Well… depends on what you heard,” Sirius replied.

“We heard you all had been fighting against another group from your school. And that you were punished quite badly for it.”

“Not so badly,” Sirius replied. “I just got detentions.”

“Why did you fight? What happened?” asked Joey, eager to know about the story.

Sirius merely shrugged.

“I just punched a guy in the face.”

“Why?”

“He said something not so kind to a friend of mine.”

“So you punched him?”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“The rumor says it was because of a girl,” Richard said, letting himself fall on the bed closer to the door. “What did the guy do? It’s about your girl?”

“Marlene is not my girl,” Sirius replied. “Lestrange mocked her on her family.”

“And?”

“And her entire family was killed during the summer.”

“Oh shit…”

A long silence settled into the room.

“Talking about girls,” Joey suddenly blurted out, “are there any girls from your school who are… taken? I mean… this ginger girl looks…”

“Absolutely not available,” James finished for him, glaring.

“You two are together?”

“No.”

“But you’re trying to make her go out with you.”

“Yep.”

“So…”

“So if you get near her I’ll turn you into a cockroach.”

“Can you do that?”

James picked up a Jelly Bean, his wand, and a second later, a cockroach was running across the room.

Joey struggled to swallow.

“Alright, maybe not this one then…”

“And Alice is my girlfriend,” Frank warned the Muggle boys.

“Alice? The brunette?” Richard asked.

“Yes.”

“What about the blond?”

He looked at Sirius, but the boy merely shrugged.

“I don’t reckon she’s going out with anyone at the moment.”

“You’re not together then.”

“Of course not,” Sirius snorted.

“Well, I don’t know… you punched a guy for her.”

“We’re not together.”

There was a knock on the door.

“Turn off your lights,” a woman told them. “It’s curfew.”

The Muggles heaved a sigh and walked towards their beds.

“Who’s that?” Peter asked.

“That’s Mrs. Peddington,” Richard answer.“She’s the groundkeeper. She’s…”

“A pain in the arse,” Joey finished in his friend’s stead.

“Hell… A woman version of our good old Filch?” Remus asked his friends.

“And I thought we would be rid of this guy,” James sighed, standing up.

“So… there’s a curfew in the dorms?” Sirius asked the Muggles, standing up as well.

“Yep, 10 pm. And everybody is woken up at half past six,” Joey nodded.

“That sucks.”

“Welcome to Saint Peter Prison.”

James carefully waited for the Muggles to be talking together, before turning towards his three friends.

“We won’t be able to talk about pranks in the dorm,” James whispered.

“What do you propose?” Sirius asked.

“I propose we explore our brand new school,” James answered with a grin, his eyes shining with mischief.

“Tonight?”

“Why not?”

“I’m not sure Lily would be very pleased if she knew the Head Boy was breaking curfew, and walking throughout the school in the middle of the night.”

“Lily doesn’t need to know that. And don’t you think that I should know my way around this school, as Head Boy?”

“I think you should know every corridor.”

“Exactly.”

“And secret passages, so you can save students faster all around the school.”

“You’re perfectly right.”

“And every way to get out of the school too, to prevent students from escaping.”

“Absolutely.”

“Oh… no, don’t tell me you’re thinking about what I think…” Remus breathed.

Sirius and James looked at each other, grinning.

“We need a Map!” they both whispered in unison.

“Oh Merlin… we’re gonna get ourselves in trouble,” Remus moaned.

“Relax, Moony. We’ll wait till they’re all asleep,” James said, nodding towards the Muggles. “And then, we’ll get out, using the invisibility cloak.”

————————————————-

“Peter, stop walking on my damn foot!”

“Not my fault you have big feet, Padfoot.”

“I beg your pardon? My feet are perfect, thank you.”

“Moony, hurry up.”

“We shouldn’t be here… You’re Head Boy for Merlin’s sake!”

“Oh… damn prefect…”

“I don’t reckon you were complaining on the fact that I’m a prefect when I used it to get you out of trouble.”

“Shh… I heard something.”

They all froze, listening closely. None would doubt Sirius’s senses. He spent so much time in his Animagus form, his senses as a human had sharpened immensely.

He guided his friends towards the wall, getting out of the way of whoever could walk down the corridor. Outside, the moon and the stars were barely visible with all the clouds that covered the heavens. Remus made the light at the tip of his wand disappear.

Peter opened his mouth to speak, but Sirius shushed him, placing his palm on his friend’s mouth.

This time, the sound of footsteps was loud enough for all the boys to hear.

They patiently waited until a little, quite fat woman would appear at the corner of the corridor. She was holding a torchlight in her hand, and seemed to be patrolling all around the school. They guessed it must have been this Mrs… Peddi… something that the Muggle boys had told them about earlier that night.

And indeed, she looked a bit like Filch. She had the same grumpy expression on her face. Except that she was three times bigger than him, that she wore big glasses that made her eyes look like the eyes of an insect, and her blond hair was attached in a high bun that was bigger than her face.

Sirius bit fiercely his lip to avoid his laughter to be heard. And he could feel that James had the same reaction, as his friend started shaking slightly next to him.

The Muggle passed slowly before them without noticing the hidden boys, and she disappeared around the next corner, climbing up a flight of stairs.

The boys slowly walked in the opposite direction, waiting until they had walked down a flight of stairs to finally light up their wands again and allow themselves to whisper again.

“Oh Merlin!” James chuckled, chocking with his laughter. “What the hell was that?”

“I thought Filch was ugly, but hell, she’s even worse,” Sirius nodded, laughing as well.

“She seems to be as bad-tempered as he is,” Remus nodded.

They were now in a corridor downstairs, not far from the grounds.

“What time is it?” Peter asked.

Remus checked his watch.

“Almost two in the morning.”

“I’m starting to be exhausted.”

“You’re always tired anyway,” Sirius replied.

“He’s got a point though, I’m tired as well,” Remus told his friends.

“Well, let’s see what we managed to cover tonight,” James proposed, and Sirius picked up the piece of parchment he had folded into his pocket.

“We have all the area around the dorms,” he said. “We also have the fourth, third and second floor of the left wing. And most of the second floor of the right wing.”

James nodded slowly.

“This school is much more little than Hogwarts. I reckon that at this rate, we could have finished to explore it in two, maybe three nights.”

Sirius nodded.

“We’ll have to think about labels as well, to avoid this Mrs. Pedd… something.”

“Peddy sounds good.”

The four boys chuckled.

“Alright, we also have to talk about that prank against the Slytherins,” James reminded his friends.

“We could… turn all their hair green,” proposed Peter.

“How old are you again?” Sirius replied harshly. “Plus, brewing a potion is too long, we need to do it quickly, set the record straight.”

“What about making their things disappear during class?” Remus proposed.

James and Sirius slowly nodded.

“That could be fun,” James said, thinking hard.

But a grin formed on Sirius’s face.

“Oh… Prongs… I’m a genius. A fucking genius. You’re going to love that…”

“What?”

“They’re keeping our owls in the school, right?”

James stared at his best friend, a smile creeping up on his lips.

“What could you possibly want to do with owls?” Remus asked suspiciously.

“We’ll need owl treats,” Sirius told James.

“I don’t dare to imagine what your crazy brain has invented again,” Remus shook his head.

Sirius shushed his friends once again.

“I heard something again.”

“We definitely need a map…” Peter whispered.

The noise of a breaking window pierced the night.

“What was that?” Remus asked softly.

“Not dear old Peddy,” Sirius breathed.

“What do we do?” Peter asked, his voice shaking slightly.

“We go take a look,” Sirius and James answered in unison.

Remus, James and Sirius all started to walk towards the noise, dragging Peter with them.

“Are you sure we should do that?” Peter asked.

“Yes, we’re sure,” Remus replied, shushing his friend.

They hurried towards the grounds.

“Can you smell that?” Sirius asked.

“It smells like… something’s burning,” James nodded.

They hurried even more towards the source of the noise, Remus pulling Peter with him by now.

They froze when they heard the sound of voices.

“Come on, hurry up!”

“We must get out of here!”

“It’s working! Look!”

“Yes, I can see it’s working! That’s why we need to get out before we are the ones to burn, instead of these monsters.”

The four boys turned a corner, and had only time to catch a glimpse of the shape of a man jumping by a window and onto the street.

On the other side of the corridor, the wooden door leading to the grounds had been broken…

…And was burning.


End file.
